Martial Arts News

Johnny Eblen had one thing on his mind Saturday night, and it only took him four minutes to get it.

Haunted by losing his Professional Fighters League middleweight title in the final minute eight months ago, Eblen returned in his first fight back and reminded the world why people call him “Pressure.” Eblen battered, ragdolled, and choked out Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Bryan Battle en route to a first-round submission (4:10) in the PFL Pittsburgh main event from the UMPC Events Center.

Eblen (17-1, 3-1 PFL) knew that Battle (12-3, 0-1 PFL) was a handful on the feet, so the American Top Team product lifted him off them and dumped “The Ultimate Fighter” winner on his head over and over again. Every time Battle thought he found a shred of space, Eblen dumped him back on the canvas. Eblen finally put Battle out of his misery with a textbook face crank from the rear-naked choke position that forced Battle to tap.

Eblen immediately called out PFL champion Cost…

In the simplest terms, Joe Pyfer has arrived as a middleweight contender.

In the main event of UFC Seattle on Saturday night, the rising middleweight contender faced by far the greatest test of his career in two-time former champion Israel Adesanya. Pyfer wasted little time in trying to secure a takedown, but “The Last Stylebender” calmly fought it off against the fence. Adesanya took the matador’s role, barely slipping some huge power shots from the Philly native and coming back with slick counters, including a couple of nasty leg kicks and an intercepting knee that clearly stung. Pyfer landed a beautiful takedown with under 30 seconds left, but the round expired before he could truly capitalize.

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Adesanya continued to work on Pyfer’s lead left leg in Round 2, drawing greater and greater reactions, but absorbed several big right hands. Unbelievably, Adesanya acquiesced in a brawl in the middle of the round, getting in several heavy shots of his own b…

Sherdog's live PFL Pittsburgh coverage will begin Friday at 7 p.m. ET.

A high-stakes middleweight clash headlines PFL Pittsburgh: Tune in LIVE, Saturday, March 28 at 10 p.m. ET.

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Round 1 They keep the line moving in the middleweight division, as Fremd (11-6, 0-0 PFL) toes the line against Al-Silawi (21-7, 4-4 PFL) at 185 pounds. Nick Berens administers the law and order. No glove touch between the two participants. Fremd greets his counterpart with a jab, low kick and lead left hook. Al-Silawi circles and gets off a one-two. Fremd controls the center, then eats an overhand right. Fremd answers with one of his own and charges forward with Al-Silawi off-balance. Strong leg kick from Fremd, who jabs at the body and then goes to the head. Al-Silawi dives on a single-leg, only to run right into a front choke. Nevertheless, he completes the takedown and settles in half guard as Fremd clings to his neck. Al-Silawi moves behind the American and loses positio…

Sherdog's live UFC Seattle coverage will begin Saturday at 5 p.m. ET. The event is also known as UFC Fight Night 271. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Thainara (-600); Brasil (+450)Round 1 To quote the inimitable UFC play-by-play commentator John Gooden, we are about to be delighted with a festival of face-punching here at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle tonight. A baker’s dozen matchups will hopefully provide a plethora of mayhem and carnage, but the good kind that we like to see at a major MMA event. The action all commences with a rematch between ladies that first met in 2019. The lone loss on the ledger for submission specialist Thainara (13-1, 2-0 UFC) came to Brasil (11-6-1, 3-4 UFC) by guillotine choke, and you bet your bottom dollar that the favored Thainara wants that one back. The strawweights and countrywomen touch gloves in front of governing referee Bobby Wombacher, who clocks the two in. Brasil immediately introduces herself with a clubbing body k…

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Tofiq Musayev picked up his first UFC win on Saturday, but it was definitely a wild ride.

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Longtime Rizin Fighting Federation lightweight standout Musayev (23-6; 1-1 UFC) faced short-notice foe Ignacio Bahamondes (17-7; 6-4 UFC) in the top prelim bout of UFC Seattle, and the two collaborated on one of the bloodiest, most dramatic bouts we’re likely to see all year. The momentum swung in Bahamondes’ direction early, as he got the better of most of the standup exchanges, hurting the Azerbaijani several times en route to winning a clear but competitive Round 1. The second frame started off with more of the same, as Bahamondes hurt Musayev with a hard right hand, then looked to hoist and slam him to the ground. Musayev recovered—with the help of a couple of egregious fence grabs—and took Bahamondes down, at which point he cut the Chilean wide open with an elbow. The bleeding was immediate and profuse, and Musayev poured it…

Demetrious Johnson had a record-setting run in the UFC's flyweight division. | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

Demetrious Johnson, who is widely regarded as the top flyweight in mixed martial arts history, will be enshrined in the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced Johnson’s induction during the UFC Seattle broadcast on Saturday. “Mighty Mouse” will enter the Hall of Fame’s Modern Wing. Johnson is often mentioned with the the likes of Anderson Silva, Georges St. Pierre, Jon Jones, Fedor Emelianenko and Khabib Nurmagomeodv as one of the greatest fighters of all-time, regardless of weight class

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“Demetrious Johnson is the greatest flyweight of all-time,” said UFC CEO Dana White. “Demetrious was a great champion who had one of the most incredible careers in MMA, and his streak of 11 consecutive title defenses is one of the most remarkable records we’ve ever seen in professional sports. It will be an honor to ind…

Chris Avila has stayed active in boxing in recent years. | Esther Lin/Fanmio

Most Valuable Promotions has finalized its first-ever mixed martial arts card with a matchup of two UFC veterans.

Chris Avila will lock horns with Brandon Jenkins in a 165-pound catchweight bout at the May 16 event, which takes place at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. MVP confirmed the booking on Saturday. Avila had previously been slated for the event but did not have an opponent when the card was initially announced.

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Well-Traveled Veterans A training partner of Nate Diaz, Avila fought twice for the UFC in 2016, dropping decisons to Artem Lobov and Enrique Barzola. The 33-year-old Cesar Gracie Fight team represenetative has compiled an 8-9 record over the course of his professional tenure, also competing for organizations such as Bellator and Combate Americas. His last pro MMA appearance came in 2021, but he has remained active in professional boxing since t…

Steve Erceg is done putting his opponents on a pedestal. 

Erceg had a wildcard entry into the UFC flyweight title picture. “Astro Boy” challenged Alexandre Pantoja for the title in his fourth UFC fight and came up short. Erceg then went on to drop two more against top contender Kai Kara-France and former champ Brandon Moreno. The Australian has since rebounded with a narrow unanimous decision win over Ode Osbourne, who fought him on 11 days’ notice. 

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Erceg (13-4) is now scheduled to fight veteran Tim Elliott (21-13) at UFC Perth on May 2. Erceg plans to have less respect for his opponents going forward. Having fought a streak of elite opponents, Erceg admits that he put them on a pedestal going into his fights. However, the 30-year-old has now realized that he can hold his own against the best fighters in the world.Just Normal People “Less respect for my opponents [going forward], basically,” Erceg told Australian MMA. “There has to be a re…

⚖️#PFLPittsburgh Weigh Ins Underway!

Middleweight Main Event:🇺🇸Johnny Eblen: 185.8 lbs🇺🇸Bryan Battle: 186 lbs

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PFL Pittsburgh will air LIVE this Saturday, March 28th on ESPN 2#PFLPittsburgh | Saturday, March 28th | UPMC Events Center | Pittsburgh, PA | 10PM EST pic.twitter.com/3RRmcjjvzZ — PFL (@PFLMMA) March 27, 2026

A high-stakes middleweight clash headlines PFL Pittsburgh: Tune in LIVE, Saturday, March 28 at 10 p.m. ET.

The Professional Fighters League's second event in March is now set following the PFL Pittsburgh weigh-ins.

The main event of the 12-fight card will see former middleweight king Johnny Eblen take on fellow contender Bryan Battle. Both men will be looking to earn a title shot and had no issue making weight. All other fighters also made weight for the event.

Eblen (16-1) is coming off suffering the first defeat in his career to Costello van Steenis. "Pressure" tapped to a rear-naked choke…

Making weight in style 🤩@Stylebender weighs in at 186lbs!

[ #UFCSeattle | TOMORROW 8pmET on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/S6bwvXMtCF

— UFC (@ufc) March 27, 2026 The Ultimate Fighting Championship's return to Washington is now official after the UFC Seattle weigh-ins took place on Friday.

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Headlining the 13-fight card is a bout between former champ Israel Adesanya and middleweight prospect Joe Pyfer. Both men successfully made weight for the five-round fight without issue. All other fighters on the card were also professionals, as everyone made weight.

Adesanya (24-5) is in desperate need of a win as he's on a three-fight losing streak. Surprising losses to Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis saw the reign of "The Last Stylebender" come to an end. Now 36, and coming off a TKO defeat to Nassourdine Imavov, the City Kickboxing product will look to show that he still has more left in the tank by taking a slight ste…

Ultimate Fighting Championship legend Diego Sanchez has not received jail time for his offenses last year.

In July 2025, Sanchez was arrested for firing a pistol out of his window while riding past an automobile accident on an Albuquerque, New Mexico, highway. The arrest reports verified the weapon in question and identified recently spent bullet casings, while the driver, friend Derrick Montoya, admitted to the arresting officer that Sanchez had discharged his weapon and laughed about it.

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The prosecutors sought a sentence of two years in prison based on the fourth-degree felony charge of discharging a firearm at or from a motor vehicle. He was also charged with a misdemeanor of negligent use of a deadly weapon, but per MMAJunkie, the latter was dismissed when Sanchez agreed to a guilty plea for the former.The price I have to pay Per local outlet KRQE, Sanchez was ultimately sentenced with five years of supervised probation, while he also will be …

A high-stakes middleweight clash headlines PFL Pittsburgh: Tune in LIVE, Saturday, March 28 at 10 p.m. ET.

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Jack Cartwright wants to build on his momentum in the Professional Fighters League.

The former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder will do battle with Allan Begosso at a 140-pound catchweight in the featured PFL Pittsburgh prelim on Saturday at the UPMC Events Center. Cartwright has prepared himself for long-term success, and seeing fellow countrymen like Brendan Loughnane excel inside the PFL only spurs his motivation. He liked what he saw from the company in his promotional debut, as he bested Caolan Loughran by unanimous decision at PFL Champions Series 3 on Oct. 3 in the United Arab Emirates.

[embedded content] “It was really good, and I really enjoyed it,” Cartwright told Sherdog.com. “It was really nice, as you can imagine. Everything was professionally run. Everyone treated me really nice. I hit the ground running, th…